Shape of Us
by jace24
Summary: Paily One Shot. Hope ya'll like it!


I just want to say thank you to everyone who commented, favorited and even bothered to read my first story. It was really cool to hear the feedback and see what you guys thought. This story is just a quick, well actually it's pretty damn long, but it's a one shot. It's basically only canon up til 5x14 because I firmly believe everything after that episode is a joke. I didn't watch much after that and from what I heard, I didn't miss much. So for this story just disregard everything Paily wise after 5x14 cause in this version it didn't that will always be a thing when I write.

I'm really thinking about writing a full story but I don't know when it will happen. I love writing but my life is always hectic and crazy so I have very little time to actually sit down and just write, which is why this one shot took me about a month to write. But here it is. I hope you guys enjoy it. Please leave a comment, good or bad, I like to know either way how you feel.

The title of the story and the lyrics in it coming from the song 'Shape of Us' by Ian Britt. It's a very beautiful little song if you haven't heard it I recommend you give it a listen. I heard it and it reminded me of Paige and Emily, which is where this whole thing kind of came from. So, yeah. Have a listen to it. It's great.

Enjoy!

I do not own Pretty Little Liars. This is just a story I wanted to write and I'm simply borrowing a few of the characters for it.

Waves. That's all Emily could hear or see. The sounds and motions of the waves as they crashed over one another time and time again. She loved the sound, the smell and the peace that the ocean provided. It was something she had fallen in love from the first day she had arrived.

Letting her feet dip deeper into the sand, she raised them up slightly and watched the small grains slip between the spaces between her toes and fall back to the ground. Emily repeated the same action several times, her eyes solely focused on the sand as her mind wandered aimlessly in a circle with the same few thoughts that had been clouding her mind for the past two days. Well more like the last several weeks, but the last couple days had been more intense. She had never expected to be here, at least not like this. The past several months felt like a miracle to her, like she was living somebody else's life and she wasn't ready to go back to hers.

Releasing a deep sigh, she raised her hands to her face and slowly massaged her eyes for a moment, trying to rid of the overlapping thoughts in her brain. Groaning slightly, Emily leaned back until her body fell against the sand beneath her, her eyes landing on the dark blue sky above her. It was still early and the sun hadn't yet risen but it wouldn't be long before the dark sky was lit up. As she fell back, she heard a small jingle next to her, her eyes falling to the sand, landing on the familiar small chain that was lying there next to her. Emily reached over and took the chain between her fingers, pulling it up to her face and held the black and pink keychain out in front of her slightly, a single key dangling in the air from the ring that the parachute chain was attached to. Her eyes stared at the small silver key intently, a smile forming on her face as she did. Every time she saw it, even now after using it a hundred times over by the point, it still made her smile for some reason. It still caused something in her chest to tighten and a comforting warmth spread all over her body.

It wasn't the key itself that caused all these feelings, but what they key represented. It was Emily's escape. It was the first real glimmer of hope she had been given in longer then she could remember and she knew she would forever love that key.

 ** _4 Months Earlier_**

Checking her reflection in the mirror of the girls bathroom, Emily grimaced slightly as she tugged at the material of her dress. She didn't even know why she was putting herself through all this struggle. It was prom night, but she was dateless. Plus the fact the Emily and her friends had just barely managed to even be able to attend their prom considering all the drama and hell surrounding their lives. It was only after Charles had been captured a few weeks earlier that the principle had changed his mind about the girls attending. She knew the majority of the students probably didn't want any of the girls to attend even now, but it was their prom just as much as everyone elses and they had every right to attend. They were victims, not monsters or actual criminals, which is exactly what Spencer's mom had argued with the principle about, ultimately winning the debate when she had threatened to go to the press or whoever with the emails that he had sent the girls banning them from prom when the threat that was surrounding them was gone. Surely, in Mrs. Hastings eyes, she knew that the principle didn't want any more bad press or light on the school. Shortly after, the girls ban had been lifted and they were asked to please attend the dance and to enjoy themselves. So they were, but it still didn't feel like it should considering the way it had all played out.

All of that plus the fact that Emily couldn't even attend the prom with her own girlfriend due to her living a million miles away was making all of this seem less and less like something she even wanted to think about doing. But here she was, at the request, well more like begging of her friends. Sighing to herself, Emily rested her hands at her sides and tilted her head to the left, fluffing her flowing curls once more before checking her full length reflection in the mirror once again.

Her dress was simple, but also very beautiful. A claret colored, strapless chiffon dress that led all the way to the floor, except for when she had her heels on. There was a beautiful silver, glittery bead design on the left hip of the dress, which was somewhat shaped like a leaf. Emily had loved it right away. She had even managed to find a pair of earrings and shoes that matched the coloring and design of the beading. She did feel pretty in the garment, but she would have felt even better if Paige had been there to see her in it. She planned on sending her pictures later on in the evening.

Emily had known that the chances of Paige being able to return for the dance were slim, especially since she had already spent over a month in Rosewood after the girls had been found in the dollhouse. Her parents had fought her on her returning at first, but Paige didn't take no for an answer after Caleb had called her and told her what had happened. Paige's parents had relented after seeing how distraught their daughter had been over the news and allowed Paige to return to Rosewood. She spent the next several weeks staying in Emily's guest room with Pam's permission, spending as much time with Emily as she could while helping her get through what had happened to her, but the time had come when she had to go back to California.

That was over a month ago and Paige had been unable to convince her parents to let her return for the dance, especially when they had caught wind of the fact that, while briefly, Emily wasn't even allowed to attend the school dance herself due to the school board wanting to keep the other students safe. That and the fact that Nick had gotten Paige into a pre-season training camp for swimming, which according to Paige was brutal but also effective, even more so because Paige had been able to meet and get to know a handful of girls that would be her teammates at Stanford in a few short months, but the bad part was that it was taking up practically all of her free time. Emily was devastated at the news of her girlfriend not being able to attend the dance, as was Paige, but there wasn't much they could do about the situation. With everything that had been going on the past few weeks, she had been looking forward to at least one nice evening with her girlfriend but it just wasn't in the cards for her. But she still planned on having the best time she possibly could.

Deep down Emily knew it was probably best that Paige had been away and not anywhere near the destruction that her life was the past several weeks. It was comforting to her knowing that Paige was far away from any of the rubble. She was safe, and as much as Emily missed her girlfriend every single day, she would much rather Paige be far away and safe then two blocks over and in danger. But of course, right now as she stood in the bathroom adjusting her dress and hair, she would have much preferred Paige being so close by.

Grabbing her clutch off the bathroom sink, Emily walked towards the door and let herself out, immediately hearing the loud music playing as she did. She headed back down the hall from where she had come and quickly reached the main room of the banquet hall where the prom was being held, her eyes scanning the crowd as she searched for her friends.

"There you are."

Turning around, Emily smiled when she saw Aria coming her way, her hair bouncing slightly as she increased her pace towards Emily.

"I was looking for you."

"Sorry, I went to the bathroom."

"Man, you sure know how to ditch a date." Aria joked as she finally stopped beside Emily and looked out into the crowd of seniors just like Emily had moments before.

Since Aria didn't have a date to the prom either, unlike Spencer and Hanna, Emily and Aria had decided to be each other's dates for the evening. Emily was happy at least to have her friends for the event.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to ditch you. I just had to get away from the music for a second."

"That's okay. I get it." Aria said with a quick shrug, looping her arm through Emily's as she motioned towards the dance floor.

"There's Hanna and Caleb." She pointed out the couple in the middle of the floor. The two of them were currently dancing to a fast song, Hanna's smile wide and bright as the two grooved together. Emily was thrilled to see her friend happy, but it was hard to deny that she felt a little jealous.

"Feel like dancing?"

Although she really didn't want to dance, Emily also didn't want to be a bad date either. She had to remember that she wasn't the only one there without a partner.

"Sure."

Aria smiled, nodding her head slightly before the two of them descended the stairs together and made their way to the middle of the floor where Hanna and Caleb, as well Spencer and Toby, were currently dancing with each other.

After a few minutes of dancing Emily was able to forget about her sadness and instead just did her best to try and have a good time. It was still her senior prom after all and Paige had told her to have a good time, actually making her pinkie swear over their last Skype session. She deserved it for sure, and it wasn't going to be much longer before Emily would have to part from her friends. Or rather, they would be parting from her. She was still uncertain of where her future would lead after graduation. All the schools she had applied to had yet to respond, and the ones that had were less then appealing.

Regardless of her future still hanging in the balance, her friends would in fact be leaving and heading off to their schools of choice meaning that every second spent with them counted, even more now that they were finally free of 'A'. She wasn't going to take any moments for granted. So she danced to several songs, even a few slow ones with Aria and the boys. Although she and Aria mostly laughed through their dances, it was still fun and she was even more happy to have her friend as her date.

An hour passed and the group decided to take a small break from the crowded dance floor, taking refuge at a nearby table that they had reserved. Hanna and Spencer were currently eyeing the small line of snack foods while Toby and Caleb were focused intently on something on Caleb's phone. Looking around the room, Emily caught sight of Aria talking to a girl from her chemistry class, feeling slightly rude for not remembering the girls name. But it had been a long year, she told herself as she pulled her phone from her purse to see if Paige had responded to the text she had sent her earlier.

Before she could even check her texts, her phone suddenly starting vibrating in her hand, Paige's name and face popping up on the screen causing a smile to spread across Emily's face. She excused herself from the table, although she wasn't even sure anyone heard her but she didn't really care either, pushing herself between the swarm of bodies as the tried to make it to the stairs that led to the main hallway.

"Hey, you." She answered the call finally, continuing to move by students that were lingering in the hall. She did a quick check in her head of the time zones and realized that it was only about seven o'clock in California and Paige had probably just got done with her swim practice.

"Hey. I didn't think you'd actually answer. I was just going to leave a message for you for later." Paige's voice came across the line, causing a flutter to start in Emily's stomach. Hearing her voice, even if her body was actually thousands of miles away, always caused a great deal of relief to flood over Emily.

"You've got good timing. We just took a little break from dancing." Emily responded, finding a secluded spot near a side door not far from the main entrance back to the ball room.

"So I take it then if you're dancing that you're having a good time?"

"It's okay. Still not as good as it would be if you were here, but for the most part it's been okay."

"I'm sorry I couldn't convince my folks to let me come back. I tried really hard but my dad just wouldn't budge."

"I know. It's not your fault." Emily said, trying to sound more uplifting then sad. She didn't want Paige to feel guilty at all. It wasn't her fault that she couldn't be there and Emily knew if there was any possible way Paige could have managed to return, she would've.

"Good. You deserve it, Em."

"Maybe."

Although they were completely the victims of 'A's game, there were still things and moments that Emily thought of from time to time that made her think otherwise. She wondered if maybe she had done something in the past, something to stop Alison from hurting the people she had, maybe none of this would have ever happened. They were victims, that was for sure, but they were also very far from innocent.

"Anyways, how was your day?" Emily asked, preferring to hear about Paige right now. Wanting to know what she was doing and just wanting to hear her voice more.

"It's been okay. Started off a little rough but it's gotten far better for sure."

"What happened?" Emily asked, the concern in her voice causing a brief smile to come across Paige's face.

"Nothing. It's just been a long day. Long week actually, you know with training and stuff. I guess I'm just ready for a little break."

"Maybe you should cut back on the training a little. It's not like you really need it anyways."

"Tell that to my dad." Paige offered with a sigh.

"I would."

"I know you would." Paige laughed, her mind filling with images of how that conversation would go. Emily and Paige's parents got along well for the most part, but considering things that had occurred in Rosewood with 'A', it was hard for them to be completely accepting of the relationship. It wasn't that they didn't like Emily, they actually really did, but they also didn't want anything to happen to their daughter. It was a rough spot for them to be in.

Emily on the other hand had trouble with Paige's dad more than her mom, those two got along perfectly well, but Nick was another story. They got along fine but she always felt Nick was far too hard on Paige, always wanting more from her than was necessary. Sometimes she just really wanted to tell him to back off a little and let Paige breathe and enjoy herself for a moment. She had worked harder than anybody else in the last four years training and she had been accepted into one of the country's best swim programs. Emily found it difficult to see what more he could want from Paige, but apparently there was.

"Well I actually didn't go to my session today."

"How come?"

"Like I said, I needed a little break. Plus, I had something important to do." Paige responded cryptically, catching Emily by surprise knowing how serious Paige took her training no matter what. Even though her dad had set it up for her, Paige wasn't the type to not give everything she had, even if she didn't really want to do it or she was exhausted. She always still did her training.

"Your dad let you miss?" Emily asked in a surprised tone, leaning her body against the wall beside her. Although she had said that Paige should take a break, she knew the chances of Nick allowing that were very slim.

"I had to do some serious convincing, with a little help, but yeah." Paige chuckled on the other end.

"I bet you did. So what was so important that you had to skip your training, Miss McCullers?" Emily asked with a sultry tone, causing another laugh to come from Paige's end of the call.

"Well I could tell you..." Paige said, her voice trailing off slightly, causing Emily's eyebrows to lift up.

"...or I could show you..."

"What? What do you mean show me?" Emily's voice was laced with utter confusion, her brain unable to process what Paige could possibly mean by that. Suddenly the words hit her and she moved from her spot on the wall, her eyes gazing around the room in front of her to see if what Paige had said meant what she thought. It couldn't though.

"Paige?" Emily questioned, waiting for Paige to further elaborate what she was talking about.

"Other way."

Turning around quickly, Emily's eyes instantly connected with Paige's, who was currently walking towards her from the opposite side door of the banquet hall. Emily's breath caught in her throat at the sight of her, completely afraid if she moved or even blinked she would realize she was dreaming.

"Hi, beautiful." Paige's smile was so soft and sweet, her eyes gleaming and looking directly into Emily's as she stepped closer to her, removing her cell phone from her ear to put it into her pocket.

"Paige." Emily's voice came out softer than a whisper, completely taken aback by the sight of her girlfriend in front of her. Her hand fell slowly from her ear, her phone landing somewhere on the floor and she didn't even care at all.

Emily couldn't speak, she couldn't move or hardly even think. She was completely shocked to see the swimmer standing in front of her. Seconds passed where she just stared at Paige in complete shock and awe and then she just moved, suddenly and as quickly as she could, practically running as she moved towards Paige and wrapped her arms around her neck the same way she had that night at the airport when she had thought that she had missed saying goodbye to her. Paige held Emily tight around her waist, pulling her in as close as she could, close enough to smell the sweet scent of her vanilla shampoo. Oh, she had missed that.

"Damn, I missed you." Paige said through a laugh, placing several small kisses to Emily's neck.

"I missed you, too."

Lifting her face from Paige's shoulder, Emily smiled and wrapped her hand around the back of Paige's neck, pulling her in until their lips finally met in a passionate kiss.

Oh, had she missed _that_.

Emily kissed her again and again, not even caring about the dance or the people around them anymore. She just wanted to stay right in that spot and keep kissing her girlfriend. But, after several moments the kiss ended and Emily found herself smiling and staring at Paige in complete and utter disbelief. Her hands rested on Paige's cheeks, sliding down to her shoulders after a moment, just wanting to keep her hands on her to make sure she didn't disappear.

"You're here." Emily said, her smile growing and growing until it was gleaming in her eyes, like it always did when she was around Paige. It was like it was specially reserved for her. It was a smile that only Paige was able to bring out of her.

"Well if I remember correctly, this was a technicality you were looking forward to." Paige said smoothly, her smile not faltering for even a moment as she stared down at her girlfriend.

"I-I can't...how are you actually here right now?"

"I flew. I mean not like physically flew." Paige gestured with her hands like a bird, causing Emily to laugh. "I'm not that cool but..." Paige finished with a shrug, smiling when she heard Emily laugh again.

"Your parents-" Emily started, shaking her head as she tried to figure out how Paige had been able to convince them to let her come back to Rosewood.

"Oh my god, you didn't run away did you?" Emily asked in a sudden panic, hoping that Paige hadn't snuck away in the middle of the night or something.

"What?!" Paige laughed, reminding Emily of one more thing she had missed in the process.

"No, I didn't run away. Come on, Fields. You know me better than that. It was actually all pretty much your mom's doing."

"What?" Emily's smile suddenly fell, a small crease forming in the middle of her forehead as she frowned. Pam had been very much aware how upset Emily had been about the fact that Paige's parents wouldn't let her return for the dance, but as far as Emily had known she hadn't actually done anything about it.

"Your mom called my mom last week and they talked for like over an hour. I'm not sure what it was all about but your mom said something about how mine should know how important a girl's prom night is and next thing I know my parents handed me a plane ticket." Paige shrugged her shoulders slightly, a small chuckle slipping from her lips.

"I'm sure there was more said then just that, but that was some of what I heard and now I'm here. I don't really know or care how it happened, I'm just happy I'm here."

"Yeah, you're here." Emily nodded, feeling tears coming to her eyes again. Having Paige in front of her, her arms around her and her taste on her lips was all too much. She smiled through watery eyes, letting her body fall back into Paige's and relished in the feeling of the other girls arms around her. She afraid to let go, afraid that this was just some sort of dream that she would awaken from and find that Paige was still far so away from her.

"I was supposed to be here earlier but my flight got delayed, so I'm sorry I'm late." Paige winced slightly, remembering how upset she had been a few hours ago when she realized that there was a chance Emily might not even still be at the dance when she got to Rosewood, which was why she had called her as soon as she reached the banquet hall. She was beyond thrilled when she not only got confirmation Emily was there, but when she first saw her. It was the by far the greatest sight she had seen in months.

"That's okay." Emily mumbled into her shoulder as she felt a few tears slip form her eyes.

"I'm just glad you're here."

"You okay?" Paige asked, tightening her grip around Emily's waist when she heard her sniffle.

"I'm okay. I just really, really missed you." Emily answered. She was still unwilling to let Paige go at the moment.

"I know, Em. I miss you too. More than you know." Paige knew being away from Emily was going to be difficult to say the least, but everyday had only proven to be harder than the one before. It didn't help that Emily's safety had constantly been in question either.

"You know what though?"

"What?" Emily asked, leaning back just enough so she could see Paige's face.

"I'm here now and it's not just for tonight. My parents are letting me stay until next Sunday, so I'll get to see you walk at graduation too."

"Really?" Emily grinned, her cheeks threatening to split in half.

"Yup. I'm all yours for the next ten days. So don't be upset cause it's prom night and I don't want a sad date, alright?"

"Yeah, okay." Emily laughed, closing her eyes at the feel of Paige's hand against her cheek as she wiped the bottom of her eyes with her thumbs.

"You look beyond beautiful, you know that?" Paige grinned, taking in the complete sight of her girlfriend. Emily was a natural beauty, there was no question about that, but the times that Paige got see her like this, completely decked out in a way she knew Emily secretly loved, it was hard to even believe she was hers. There was no look that the girl could not pull off. A ball dress with her hair and make up perfectly styled or sweats and a beat up t-shirt with her hair matted from waking up that morning without even so much as some gloss on her lips. It didn't matter. Emily was perfect either way.

Blushing, Emily smiled and looked down at her dress momentarily before looking back up at her girlfriend.

"Thank you." Emily smiled, taking a moment to appreciate Paige's outfit for the first time since she had seen her.

"We match."

"Yeah, your mom helped me out with that part too."

Paige looked absolutely stunning. She was wearing an all black tux with a black shirt along with a vest, bowtie, and pocket square, all three which matched the color of Emily's dress. She had completed the outfit with a pair of all black Chuck Taylors, which she thought would make more comfortable for dancing. Pam had done a perfect job at helping Paige pick out the outfit over the phone. Paige had styled her hair similar to Emily, opting to leave it down and around her shoulders in loose curls.

"Wow, you two pulled this off pretty well."

"I'm sorry we didn't tell you. I just wanted it to be a surprise, you know? Sort of my way to show you they're not always going to be bad. They can still be good sometimes."

It was true that Emily was beginning to believe there were no miracles left in this world, at least not for her, but this moment right here was helping to change that.

"Thank you." Emily said with the most sincere voice that Paige had ever heard from her before.

"For everything. For coming back here, not just tonight, but coming back for me and being here for me and just...for everything. I don't even know how to say it."

"You don't even have to, Em. I love you and I would do anything for you." Paige said honestly, not needing or wanting any kind of thanks from her girlfriend.

"And besides.., I've been dreaming of taking you to prom for a long time now. I wouldn't have missed it no matter what. Even if your mom hadn't stepped in I would have found a way here."

Emily could feel her heart tightening in her chest, slightly overwhelmed by everything that had occurred in the past few minutes. She just didn't even know what to say or what to do.

"I love you, too. Really, a lot."

"I know." Paige nodded, her eyes dropping to the ground as she tried to hide the blush on her cheeks. Even after all this time hearing Emily actually say that she loved her made her feel like her head was spinning out of control.

"Oh, here!"

The sudden raise in Paige's voice caught Emily off guard, her body jumping just slightly in surprise as she watched Paige reach into her jacket pocket. Emily's lips widened in a smile once again when she saw the white colored corsage Paige had pulled from her pocket.

"This is for you."

"It's beautiful...but I don't have one for you." Emily grimaced as she held her hand out so Paige could slip the flower onto her wrist. She wasn't exactly prepared for a date.

"That's okay, Em. It's no big deal." Paige shrugged it off, just happy to be able to give Emily the night she deserved. It didn't matter as much to her, she was just happy to be in the same room as her girlfriend at the moment.

"So..." Paige started as she dropped her hands away from Emily's and shoved them into the pockets of her slacks, taking a deep breath as she looked into Emily's eyes.

"Will you go to prom with me?" She asked Emily, as if she had no idea that the girl in front of her would actually have any interest whatsoever in the idea of attending the dance with her.

Biting back a laugh, Emily smiled widely, her head shaking from side to side lightly as she met Paige's eyes.

"Yes. Yes, I will go to prom with you."

"Woooo." Paige breathed a mock sigh of relief, her left hand coming out of her pocket and resting against she chest.

"Thank god cause that would have been extremely harsh and a long plane ride back."

"Well, it's not like I have much choice. You're the only one who asked me and it's a little late to find anyone else." Shrugging with complete indifference, Emily side stepped around Paige and headed for the door.

"Whoa that was rude, Fields!"

Turning on her feet quickly, Paige caught sight of Emily laughing quietly to herself. All the previous sadness, tension and worry about the evening completely gone now that Paige was there with her.

Reaching out, she took Paige's hand and pulled her in close to her own body so there was barely an inch of space between them. Paige smiled down at her, her eyes closing as Emily kissed her again, their lips lingering together for several moments before they parted.

"I wouldn't have gone with anybody but you. No matter what."

"You came with Aria." Paige argued with a deadpan expression, both of them laughing slightly as Paige was unable to keep a straight face for long.

"It was merely a comfort date."

"I know."

"You're the only one I want to go with as a real date."

Paige grinned, her cheeks turning a slight red as she blushed, her head falling as she tried to hide the fact. When she finally glanced back up, she squeezed Emily's hand in her own and motioned to the door with her free hand.

"Let's go then."

Paige tugged gently on Emily's hand, the two of them walking side by side towards the double doors straight ahead that lead to the main ballroom. Paige opened the door to the room, her hand still held tightly between Emily's as they squeezed through the door together.

"Wow." Paige muttered, slightly take back by the sight of the room.

"Didn't think it'd be so big, huh?"

"Not really." Paige shook her head, looking through the crowd and smiled when she spotted Caleb and Hanna dancing together.

Turning her eyes back to Emily, Paige smiled as she heard a slow song start over the speakers and squeezed her girlfriend's hand slightly, her eyes shifting back to the dance floor briefly.

"I think I owe you a dance."

Emily grinned, following Paige's lead down the long staircase to the dance floor. They found a spot outside the middle of the floor that wasn't too crowded. Emily rested her arms easily over Paige's shoulders, her hands connecting around her neck as she pulled her in close, her stomach tingling slightly at the feeling of Paige's hands wrapped around her waist.

"What are you all smiley about?" Paige asked, even though she was sporting a rather large smile on her own face. "I'm just..." Emily started, her voice falling off into a sigh as she laughed lightly. "I'm just happy I guess. This is what I wanted for tonight. To just be with you."

"So did I." Paige nodded, dropping a lingering kiss to Emily's forehead as she pulled her body in closer to her own.

Emily let her head fall onto Paige's shoulder, her arms gripping her shoulders just a little tighter as she closed her eyes and let the music fill her ears as she and Paige swayed together.

 _You're no longer alone  
We've found a space to name our own  
_ _There ain't no need to fret or fuss  
_ _We've got all the strength we need in the shape of us_

 _And I know you've had it tough_  
 _Your road's been bumpy and rough_  
 _But say goodbye to a world that you once knew_ _I have every faith in me and you_

_Hold my hand  
Hold my heart  
_ _Let go your fear  
_ _Darling I will always be here_

 _I never felt quite so at home_  
 _Your sweet caress is the best I've known_  
 _Now that I've proved to you that I'm worthy of your trust  
_ _Let us build a world in the shape of us_  
 _In the shape of us, oh in the shape of us_

 _Hold my hand_  
 _Hold my heart_  
 _Let go your fear_  
 _Darling I will always be here_  
 _Darling I will always be here_

Rolling onto her side, Emily breathed out a long sigh as she felt her body slowly pulling away from unconsciousness. She could feel the warmth of the sun on her skin, proving that morning had come, but she didn't exactly feel like getting up at all. Not even a little bit. Turning onto her back, she sighed as she stretched her arms above her body, hearing the small pops from her joints as she did. Opening her eyes slowly, she frowned in confusion seeing the spot beside her was empty.

Leaning on slightly, she gripped the bed sheet in one hand, holding it against her naked chest as she looked around the room for her missing girlfriend, but she was nowhere in sight.

"Paige?"

Emily waited a few moments for a response but nothing ever came. Turning her head towards the nightstand she saw that it was only just after ten in the morning. After their first dance together at prom they had joined the rest of the group, whom were all surprised and shocked to see Paige there. Aria was only slightly bummed as she felt she had been truly dumped with the swimmer's arrival, but it was all better after Paige had offered to be the smaller girls date as well and even shared a few dances with her, with Emily's permission. Of course though, Aria wasn't truly upset, visibly noticing the change in Emily's mood once her girlfriend had shown up. How could Aria even try to be mad when her friend was that happy?

They had stayed for a few hours more with their friends, stopping at a nearby diner to get a late night dinner after prom had ended before saying goodbye. Emily had planned on staying with Spencer and the girls at the Hastings lake house for the night, but with Paige coming back into town she had decided to stay the night with her instead, which was fairly easy considering Paige was staying at her Aunt's empty lake house that wasn't far from Spencer's.

They hadn't arrived at the house until nearly one in the morning, not actually going to sleep till after three so Emily had no idea why Paige was already up and gone from bed. But she was and apparently she wanted Emily to have to get up as well.

Before she actually had to get up though, Emily's question of where Paige was suddenly was answered as she walked back into the room, running a towel through her wet hair as she did.

"Hey." She called out to Paige, who had yet to notice Emily was awake, which was clear by her obvious tip toeing.

"Hey." Paige smiled brightly at her girlfriend when she saw that she was awake. She tossed her towel down, walking the short distance over to the bed and rested one knee on the mattress.

"What are you doing up?" Emily asked through another yawn, causing Paige to smile once again.

"Couldn't sleep. Probably jet lag or something so I just took a shower." Paige explained as she leaned over the short distance to give Emily a kiss, which Emily happily accepted.

"Why are you up? I was trying to let you sleep."

"Cause you're up." Emily replied, reaching out to move a fallen lock of hair from Paige's eyes. "But I wouldn't quite say that I'm awake just yet."

Paige laughed slightly watching Emily rub the sleep from her eyes. She did look tired, but still incredibly beautiful for just waking up. Moving her body closer towards Emily, Paige kissed the top of her head and laid down beside her, wrapping her arms around her waist as she settled on the mattress.

"Good morning."

"Morning."

Emily happily rested her body against Paige's, already feeling herself ready to fall back asleep with the sound of Paige's heartbeat in her ear. It had been a long night and her body had not yet fully woken up, nor did it want to.

"So did last night turn out better than you expected?"

"You could say that." Emily answered with a coy smile, turning her head slightly so she could see Paige better.

"My expectations weren't exactly very high to begin with, but it definitely turned out to be much more than I could have asked for."

"Glad I could help with that." Paige smiled, her eyes moving slowly away from Emily eyes and down her slightly exposed body. Emily watched Paige lick her lips, her smile widening when she realized she had been caught checking her girlfriend out. She merely shrugged her shoulders in response.

"I was thinking about maybe making something to eat. Are you hungry?" Paige asked, turning her head slightly as she let out a yawn of her own.

"I could eat...but that would mean getting up." Emily responded with a slightly pathetic expression that made Paige chuckle. "And right now I'd much rather just be in bed with you."

"You got it." Was all Paige said as she tightened her hold on Emily's waist.

Considering it wasn't very often that the two teens had been able to actually spend an entire night together, Emily felt the need to soak in the time that they had right now. If Emily thought about it the total number of times was less then ten but more than five. Normally their alone time together was rushed, especially when 'A' had been apart of the picture. It was difficult between all of that chaos, their friends and parents and then just general everyday activities such as school, work or practice to manage to get anytime alone together. So when they did have time it was rushed, which made it difficult to be able to enjoy it in full, but they did what they had to do. Paige moving away had only worsened their situation, now making this time completely and utterly alone together feel even more needed and appreciated.

Emily wanted to take in every second because, even as much as she didn't want to think about it, the next ten days were going to go by fast and Paige would have to leave again. The thought of it all making her stomach clench.

"What are you thinking about?" Paige's question brought Emily back to the moment, her eyes focusing back on her girlfriend as a smile covered her lips.

"You." Emily answered simply. "Just how nice it is not having to worry about one of our parents walking through the door right now. I missed this." Emily added, watching as Paige nodded her head in agreement with her.

"My plan worked out nicely."

"Yes, it did. You did a very good job."

Paige smiled in response, her eyes trailing over Emily's body once again before they landed back at her eyes. Emily stayed quiet, watching as Paige watched her right back. There was always something about the way Paige looked at her, about how soft and sweet her gaze always was when she looked at her that took Emily by surprise. It was if there was nothing else in the world but Emily that she looking at or thinking about.

Emily had become used to people looking down on her at this point, but not like that. Instead they were looking at her with judgment and just utter disinterest considering the chaos her life was surrounded by, so it always caught her off guard when Paige looked at her the way she was right now. It never failed to make her smile or her stomach to flip a dozen times.

"Why do you always look at me like that?" Emily uttered, her eyes still staying locked on Paige as she did.

Paige looked confused for a moment, a crease forming at the center of her forehead as she frowned briefly. "Like what?"

It wasn't shocking to Emily that Paige was more than likely clueless to what she meant. She might not even realize herself that she looks at Emily the way she does, or maybe she does and she just doesn't think anything of it. Maybe it was just Emily over thinking it all.

"The way you are right now. Like...I don't know, like I'm not a total walking disaster." Emily answered, finishing off with a small laugh.

"You're not, Em. Not at all." Paige said while shaking her head, her hair falling in her face in the process.

"I'm glad one of us thinks so."

"There is nothing disastrous about you, Emily. Trust me, okay? I spent quite a bit of time being the exact definition of a walking disaster and I promise you that you're not that. Okay?"

"You weren't a disaster, Paige. You were just...trying to find yourself. There's a difference."

"Yeah, there is and maybe that's what you've been doing as well. Trying to find yourself in the mess that 'A' turned your life into."

"See? Exactly. I am a mess." Emily pointed her finger at Paige, her lips turning into a crooked grin.

"No, I didn't say that. Just because you were lost in the mess doesn't mean you are one."

"It's hard for me to see it that way."

"Well it's not for me. Cause I know who you are and I know the things you've had to deal with and I can't think of any other person in this world that could have come through it the way that you have. I honestly don't even know how you did it, Em."

Paige often found it hard to understand or even believe that Emily and the others hadn't ended up in Radley permanently or worse during the past several years. She knew about the things that had happened to the four girls, at least some of what happened as she was sure Emily had not disclosed everything to her, and she wasn't sure she could have done it. She didn't know if she was that strong.

"You're the bravest person I've ever met and you've taught me more about what that really means than anyone."

Emily fought to keep her eyes on Paige's, swallowing a growing lump in her throat as she listened to what Paige was saying to her.

"So no, when I look at you I don't see a walking disaster. I just see you. Beautiful, brave, strong, and forever breaking my heart because I just love you so much...you." Paige said, her shoulders lifting into a quick shrug as she finished and she smiled at the sound of Emily's laugh.

"You really see all of that, huh?" Emily asked in surprise, mostly because all of those things, everything that Paige had just said was exactly the way Emily felt about her. All those things, plus a million more came to her mind when she looked at Paige but more often than not anymore she just felt that Paige was far too good for her. That she didn't deserve all the love and comfort and joy that Paige brought to her life. 'A' had left doubts of all kinds in Emily's mind and whether or not she should be selfish enough to stay with Paige had been one of them. But in the end she wasn't willing to let the only good thing she had left go. She wouldn't let 'A' win like that.

"Yeah, I do." Paige nodded, a growing smile on her lips as she reached her hand out and touched Emily's cheek. "You're pretty much the girl of my dreams, Em. Haven't you figured that out by now?"

Emily didn't know what to say, and frankly she wasn't sure she even had the voice _to_ say anything at that moment. So instead she reached both of her hands up and cupped Paige's cheeks in her hands and kissed her. She poured her heart and soul into that kiss, saying everything in that action that she couldn't voice with words. Paige knew it too. She could feel it and she had no qualms about Emily's choice of expression.

When Emily broke the kiss, she smiled at the dazed look on Paige's face, her fingers running down the sides of her face before they fell and landed on her chest.

"I love you."

Paige's dazed grin suddenly grew into a big goofy smile, her eyes lighting up just so and Emily's stomach flipped at the sight.

"I love you, too."

Reaching her hand out softly, Paige brushed her fingers through Emily's hair a few times and pressed a kiss to her forehead. They laid in a comfortable silence for a while, their eyes on each other as they shared lazy kisses and basked in the time alone they had together.

"Em?" Paige called out into the silence of the room with a quiet whisper, just in case Emily had fallen back asleep.

"Yeah?" Came Emily's reply, her fingers playing idly with the hem of Paige's tank top.

Emily waited several seconds, expecting Paige to say something but she didn't. Frowning, Emily tilted her head and saw her girlfriend's eyes staring down, a look on her face like she was arguing with herself about something. She looked nervous all the sudden, something that only peaked Emily's interest even more in that moment.

"Paige. What's wrong?"

"Nothing!" Paige assured her quickly, shaking her head effectively as she protested which made it easy for Emily to believe her.

"There's nothing wrong, but I do need to talk to you about something. I planned on telling you last night but then you...distracted me."

Paige smiled seeing Emily's lips turning up into a slight grin, her cheeks turning a little bit red as she shrugged her shoulders.

"Hey, it's not my fault your easily distracted."

"Touché." Paige said, not even trying to deny Emily's claim. "But I figure I should tell you now while we're on our own cause it is important. It's not bad though, at least I don't think so."

"Okay." Emily nodded her head once, feeling slightly anxious now as she waited for Paige to go on.

"Alright, so after I got back to California, you know after I came back and stayed with you, my dad got a hold of the Stanford swim coach and set up a meeting. He wanted to see what kind of extra training he thought I should be doing to prepare for the season and we ended up going on a tour of the campus that day. We went through every bit of the campus that day including the classrooms, the pool and locker rooms and just everything. It was long and ridiculous, actually."

Emily listened closely to Paige as she spoke, still waiting to find out what exactly was going on but she didn't interrupt to ask.

"Then we went and looked at the dorms. They were actually pretty nice, a lot nicer than the pictures showed at least. They're still pretty small though." Paige continued, stopping for a moment to catch her breath before she went on.

"Coach started telling us about how he tries to set it up so that girls on the team room together. Kind of way to make sure we stay focused and also get to the chance to know each other better." Paige sighed, shaking her head from side to side and she fought to find the words.

"Which actually does make a lot sense in the long run." She admitted, not having thought about that before.

"And I've met some of the girls already and I'm sure I'd be fine rooming with them on one hand but on the other I just...I don't know. It just didn't feel right. I couldn't figure it out at first but then I finally understood why I didn't feel excited about it all anymore."

"What was the reason?" Emily asked, feeling her stomach turn slightly at the idea of Paige rooming with some stranger. She trusted Paige whole heartedly of course, but the whole idea still left a small pit in her stomach.

"The only person I ever imagined sharing a room with was you, Em."

Feeling a slight twist in her chest, Emily nodded and dropped her eyes from Paige, knowing exactly how she felt about that. She had never been more thrilled about the idea of getting out of Rosewood than she had been in that brief bit of time when she had thought she had a chance to get into Stanford. Since she was fifteen, or maybe even younger, Emily knew she didn't want to be in Rosewood for longer than necessary but the reality of actually getting out hadn't come until Paige had asked her to go to California with her. Suddenly the door was right there in front of her, but of course 'A' had quickly slammed it back in her face. She should have known it wouldn't have been that easy.

"Yeah, me too." Emily admitted with a sad sigh, her eyes falling to her lap momentarily as she tried to choke down the feelings bubbling up inside of her.

"I don't know if maybe it's just the Rosewood left in me or what but the idea of rooming with a complete stranger, even if it is my future teammate, just didn't sound as appealing to me."

"I can believe that." Emily laughed somewhat bitterly, knowing all too well how the events of the previous years had somehow caused her to second decisions more and more than she used to.

"Yeah, so I thought about it for a little bit and had a talk with my parents. At first my dad said that it was just nerves about being in a new place with new people and all but I knew it wasn't that. Eventually though I got him to understand and he agreed that the dorms just wouldn't be for me."

"So you're just going to live at home with your parents then?" Emily asked, not sure why that was such an important topic of discussion. Of course it was good to know, but Emily still felt slightly confused considering Paige had made it seem as though whatever it was she wanted to discuss was far more serious.

"Not exactly." Paige answered with a small smile.

"Okay." Emily drawled out, her eyes narrowing slightly as the confusion she was feeling grew even more. If Paige wasn't going to be in the dorms or her parents house then where was she going?

"I thought about that and while it would be the easier choice I still feel like even if I don't want to live in the dorms I still would like a little bit of freedom, you know? I want to start having a life of my own that isn't fully dependant on my parents anymore."

"That makes sense."

"Yeah, so I talked to my parents, for a long time we talked and they finally agreed that so long as I keep my grades and my times up they would help me get an apartment."

Emily's eyes immediately went wide at the reveal, not hiding her shock even a little bit.

"An apartment? Your own apartment?"

"Yeah." Paige nodded, a grin slowly spreading over her lips as she finally told Emily the news she had dying to tell her since she first arrived.

"Wow." Emily looked stunned to say the least, taking a second to process the news she had just gotten. "That's...that's amazing!"

As surprised as she was, Emily was also very happy for Paige. In all honesty she couldn't picture Paige living with a complete stranger. She just wasn't the type of person that cared for those types of situations. Although, she was stunned as well because Paige never mentioned the idea of not living on campus to her at all.

"So you're getting an apartment?"

"No." Paige shook her head quickly, smiling when she saw the frown reappearing on Emily's face.

"I'm not getting an apartment, I _have_ an apartment." Paige corrected her, Emily's eyes going wide once again.

"You found one already?"

"Yeah, my parents and I went looking about a month ago and we found one that we all agreed on and I applied for it last week. Everything just went through a couple of days ago. I'm moving in after I get back."

"Wow." Emily repeated, running her hand through her hair slightly as she turned away from Paige.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Paige asked, seeing the small frown on her girlfriends face.

"No, nothing. I'm so happy for you but I guess I'm just a little-"

"Surprised?" Paige guessed and nodded when Emily said yes. "I know I probably should have said something sooner, and I'm sorry that I didn't but I just wanted to make sure it was actually going to happen before I did. It took a lot of convincing for my dad to agree to it all."

Paige couldn't even count how many times she and her father had gone in circles in their discussion before he finally relented and really heard her out. Once he had, it was hard to deny that Paige had a point that she would be better off living by herself in order to focus better on her school work and practice.

"I didn't mean to leave you out, Em." Paige said quietly with an apologetic expression on her face, suddenly feeling guilty for not realizing that she had unintentionally left Emily out of the loop.

"I understand. It's not that I feel left out necessarily but I guess I just wish I could have helped or something, you know?"

"Yeah, I get it. I just didn't want to make a big deal out of it if my parents were never going to agree to it."

"That makes sense. I guess I'm just more surprised you never mentioned that you were considering not living in the dorms."

"No, I didn't." Paige agreed with a short sigh, licking her lips as she shrugged her shoulders. "I was going to but then I decided not to because...I don't know, I just didn't want to sound ungrateful, you know?"

"No. Not really." Emily answered honestly. She had no idea where Paige would have come up with that thought at all. "Why would telling me that you don't want to live in the dorms make you sound ungrateful?"

Paige seemed caught off guard by the question, her eyes falling to her lap as she thought for a moment. Emily waited patiently beside her for a few seconds before she urged her to voice her thoughts.

"Paige?"

"I just don't want to complain." Paige stated simply, her eyes still avoiding Emily's as she spoke.

"I got a scholarship to one of the best schools in the country and not everyone got that chance. I should be grateful that I was even lucky enough to be accepted, but instead I'm bitching about something as ridiculous as dorm rooms. The whole thing just seemed stupid to bother you with."

Biting the inside of her cheek, Emily breathed out a small sigh as she stared at Paige, waiting for her girlfriend to look her way finally.

"You're not ungrateful, Paige." Emily said, meeting Paige's eyes as she finally turned her eyes to Emily.

"You earned your scholarship, it had nothing to do with luck at all. You worked ten times harder then anybody else on the team every single day. There is no other reason you got the scholarship besides that." Emily spoke clearly and firmly, making sure that Paige heard and understood everything she was saying.

"And I don't want you feel like you have to tip toe around conversations with me because you feel like you're going to hurt my feelings or something by talking about Stanford."

"That's not what I think."

"Are you sure?"

Paige's mouth opened and closed once and then again, words falling completely away as she shook her head slightly.

"It's not your fault that I didn't get into college Paige, and just because I didn't doesn't mean that you have to feel bad that you did."

It was hard for Paige to not feel that way though. Mainly because she knew that Emily worked just as hard as she had and had 'A' not got in the way then Emily easily would have had dozens of colleges chasing after her. But she also knew that dwelling on it, for her own sake or for Emily's would do no good for either of them.

"Okay." Paige nodded, huffing slightly as she turned her eyes back to her lap.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry. Just promise me that you're not going to hold back telling me stuff like that. I don't want to be away from you in any more ways then we're already going to gave to be."

"I promise." Paige assured her, reaching her hand over to cover Emily's, giving her fingers a gentle squeeze. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you though, I should have."

"It's okay. I just don't want you to think that you can't tell me stuff cause you can, always. Plus I do want to know how everything's going for you with swimming and school and all that, even if you think that I don't or you think it's stupid I still want to know."

"Me too." Paige agreed.

"Good." Emily nodded, leaning over the short distance to press a soft kiss to Paige's lips. She pulled back with a small smile, taking a tighter hold on Paige's hand that was holding on to her own as she laced their fingers together.

"So, tell me about your new place. What's it like?" She asked, changing the subject just slightly as her curiosity started to run.

"It's really great. Not huge or anything, but it's good for me and for the price it's actually pretty nice. It's got the standard stuff, you know?" Paige explained with a smile that showed Emily how excited she really was about her new place. "Kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, living room and a little dining area off the kitchen. The coolest part is the patio though. I can actually see the beach. It's amazing."

"Sounds like it. You'll have to send me some pictures."

"I could do that." Paige nodded as she turned her eyes forward towards the wall, stretching her legs out slightly as she leaned her head back against the headboard.

"Or you could come and see it for yourself."

Shifting her gaze back towards her girlfriend, Paige waited for a response to her offer and saw a smile start to play at the corner of Emily's lips.

"What?" Emily chuckled lightly, her eyes searching Paige's for answers. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah, of course I am. You could come out." She offered with a smile, her head dipping just slightly while shrugging her shoulders. "You know if you wanted to."

"Are you kidding?" Emily laughed at the question as if it was so obvious. "I'd leave right now."

Paige laughed softly at the urgent tone in Emily's voice, knowing full well if it was possible they would both be well on their way, "Well I don't know about right _now_."

"Yeah, I figured that might be sort of a long shot."

"Just a little bit." Paige agreed with a smile, her eyes twinkling just so as she looked at Emily.

"I'd love to come and see it though."

Paige nodded her head, her thumb running across Emily's knuckles as looked down at their joined hands. "Well, what are you doing this summer?"

Hearing the question, Emily merely looked at Paige with a questioning gaze, her eyebrows slightly raised in a mix of confusion and anticipation.

"Cause I was thinking..." Paige continued on instead of waiting for Emily to answer her, licking her lips as she turned her body, her left hand moving from it's spot between both of Emily's as she shifted on the mattress, both of her hands now resting on the sheets at either side of Emily, her body hovering over her girlfriend's. Brushing Emily's hair back from her forehead as her head sunk into the pillow underneath her from the slight weight of Paige's body over hers, Paige smiled down at her softly.

"Yeah?" Emily's eyes met Paige's as she spoke, her hands reaching up to rest on Paige's back as she waited for her to go on.

"Well I was thinking maybe you could come and stay with me."

"For the whole summer?" Emily asked incredulously after a brief silence settled in the room, her eyes going slightly wide.

"If you want. You don't have to stay for the whole summer but you could. You can stay the whole summer or you can stay for a month or a week, hell even just a day. I don't care how long. It's completely up to you."

For a few seconds Emily found herself unable to respond. She wasn't expecting for Paige to ask her that. She of course had hoped that she would be able to go and visit Paige for a little bit before school started but she never imagined the whole summer. Of course the fact that Paige now had a place of her own was a pretty big game changer. It was certainly much more plausible now.

"I know it's not exactly how we planned it but I was thinking we could still make some of the things we talked about happen. We could still drive across country and eat a million donuts on the way."

Emily smiled and watched as the excitement on Paige's face grew more and more by the moment as she spoke.

"We could have dinners on the beach and swim in the ocean, maybe even learn to surf or jet ski. Walk the boardwalks and there's all these really cool vintage shops near my place that I know you'd love. We can go to San Francisco, LA or Yosemite Park or anywhere you want. We can do whatever we want and just...just be, you know? Or we can just stay in my apartment the whole time and never leave. That'd work too." Paige explained, her eyes twinkling the entire time as she explained the visions in her head. It was like that night all over again when she had first asked Emily to go with her. only this time there was nothing standing in the way. Nothing could stop them now.

"Oh, Disneyland!" Paige said with a quick snap of her fingers, her face the mirror of a small child.

A short laugh rose up from the back of Emily's throat, her eyes shining as she looked at Paige and took in all the words she had just said. Paige always had a way of making things seem so utterly simple. Like there was nothing they couldn't do and it was so easy for Emily to believe her.

"When do we leave?" Were the only words that came out of Emily's mouth after a few moments of silence.

Emily watched Paige's eyes rise up slightly, her smile growing more and more by the second as she titled her head.

"Does that mean..."

"I want to go." Emily said, her answer more clear now as her smile began threatening to split her face right in half. "Yeah, that means I want to go."

"Yes?"

"Yes!" Emily nodded enthusiastically, laughing against Paige's lips when she kissed her suddenly. Deepening the kiss, Emily held Paige's cheeks in both of her hands and pulled her in as close as she could.

"Are you sure?" Paige asked when they parted, her tongue running across her lips as she stared down into those brown eyes that never failed to make her heart beat that extra beat faster. "I know this summer is going to be important for you and your friends so if you don't want to stay for the whole summer I understand."

"No, I do. I want to. The girls will understand, trust me." Emily said, already knowing that her friends would be nothing but supportive of her going away for the summer. They knew more than anybody how much Emily had been missing Paige. As much as she imagined it would be tough being away from her friends, Emily already knew exactly how hard it was being away from Paige and however much time she could lessen that amount, she would.

"You sure?"

"Positive." Emily assured her with a nod before she let out a small laugh.

"What?" Paige asked as she sat up slightly on her palms.

"Nothing, you just...caught me off guard a little is all."

"Yeah, I suppose I've been throwing a lot at you in the past twelve hours, huh?"

"Definitely surprised me a lot." Emily said with a wide smile that Paige returned.

"Although I can't say I mind it much."

"I hope not. I like surprising you." Paige said as she pressed a kiss to the tip of Emily's nose and then another to her lips.

"Yeah, well I think I'm starting to like it myself."

"Good." Paige grinned widely, watching Emily closely for a second before she leaned up on her knees suddenly, her body turning as she reached over the left side of the bed and started rummaging through her bag on the floor.

"What are you doing?"

Emily watched with a slight frown as Paige spent several moments looking through her bag, even tossing out a couple of curses as she struggled to find whatever it was she was looking for.

"Do you need help?" Emily bit back a laugh as she asked, hearing Paige let out a small laugh of victory as she located what she was looking for.

"Got it." Was all she said as she tossed the bag back down and settled herself back in the spot she had been in above Emily before, this time holding a little white box in her hand that had Emily very intrigued.

"What's that?"

"One last surprise." Was all Paige said as she offered the box to Emily. "Open it."

"But what it's for?" Emily hesitated slightly in taking the box. After everything that Paige had done for her recently, she felt slightly selfish in this very moment accepting a gift from her as well.

"Just open it." Paige simply urged Emily further to take the box, this time waving it back and forth in between her fingers.

"Paige." Emily said with a small sigh, finally accepting the box into her hands as she sat up slightly. "You didn't have to get me anything."

Paige's only response was to look at Emily with a pointed look, clearly still waiting for her to go on and open the box already. Relenting finally, Emily pulled on the little ribbon around the box and lifted the lid before looking inside. Hidden beneath a tiny piece of purple tissue paper was a silver key.

Taking the key between her fingers, Emily held it up between herself and Paige, a small smile on her lips as she took a guess at what it was for.

"A key, huh?"

"I thought you might like your own." Paige said with a goofy smile that made Emily smile as well.

"So I guess you really are serious about this aren't you?"

"Absolutely. If you want to." Paige assured her.

"I do. I really, really, do." Emily replied honestly. How could she not want to spend three months alone with Paige in an apartment all by themselves? Especially considering she would be thousands of miles away from Rosewood as well.

"Okay. I'm in if you're in."

"I'm in." Emily said with a smile as she stared down at the key between her fingers once again.

"Seriously, when do we leave?"

In response Paige smiled, leaning the short distance to Emily lips and kissed her once, twice and finally a third time. Short and sweet kisses that left a flutter in Emily's chest.

"Whenever you want, Em. Whenever you want."

Emily smiled as the memory of that day, of those moments with Paige replayed in her mind as clearly as if they had happened the day before. She could still hear the music in her ears as they danced together at prom. She could feel the touch of Paige's hands running along her back and shoulders as she removed her beautiful dress later that evening. She remembered the walk and picnic along the lake they took later that day after Paige had given Emily the key to her apartment. They talked about what they would do when they got to California, mapping out the whole trip on a piece of notebook paper as they looked up places to go and routes to take on Emily's phone while they sat and ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and chips along with an entire box of Oreos. By the time they were done they had nearly two pages full of places and ideas.

Emily had spoken to her parents about the plan later on that evening. They were surprised to say the least, and as Emily had expected they weren't immediately on board with the whole thing. It took a few days in fact and more than one conversation with Paige's parents before everyone was on board and they finally agreed to let Emily go. Just over two weeks after graduation the two were on their way. Paige flew back to California the day after Emily's graduation and had drove back two days before they hit the road. Emily had packed three suitcases full and stashed them in the back of Paige's car and they drove off without looking back.

Even as they crossed state lines Emily found herself afraid that she was going to wake up at any moment in time and realize she was dreaming. That she wasn't actually on her way to California with Paige beside her, but it was completely real. It took them four days and three nights to reach California as they took their time to stop and see the world along the way. They had spent the first two nights at quiet motels and the final night they had found a deserted bluff and just simply pulled over and slept out under the stars. Emily had never felt so free in all her life. She had forgotten how it felt to live her life without fear or worry weighing her down at every second of the day.

As she lay there in the sand, Emily could still remember the feeling of her heart racing when they finally reached California. Paige had taken her time driving through town and took every opportunity to point out various landmarks to Emily before they finally reached the apartment. Emily didn't know exactly what she had been expecting before they arrived, but Paige's apartment was gorgeous. It was small as she had said but it was so perfect at the same time. They spent their first few days getting it all put together. Paige had taken Emily to the local vintage shops near the complex she had told her about that day when she first gave her the key and had let her pick out all sorts of things to place around her apartment, along with some furniture as well considering all Paige had to start was her bed. Paige was convinced they didn't need much more then that but in the end she lost the argument and Emily had picked out some less expensive items to fill up the apartment with. Paige knew Emily would do a much better job then she would when it came to the decor, and she had. Paige wanted Emily to feel as much at home as possible, especially considering the apartment would be her home for the next three months so she had no problem letting her take the reigns in that department.

They spent days and nights at the beach and just walking around the city as they got acquainted with their surroundings, Emily being surprised at the fact that Paige hadn't done much exploring on her own in all the time she had been there, but it made it more fun for them to discover new things together. Many days they took hikes along the trails and canyons that they had found throughout their explorations. There were nights they had dinner with Paige's parents as well as her Aunt, Uncle and cousins that lived nearby.

Sometimes they biked around the city and sometimes they just drove and drove until they ended up somewhere new. They had been to about twelve different cities by the time the third month started coming to a close. The two never really cared where they were as long as they got to have as many adventures as possible before the summer ended and Emily was more than happy at the amount they had achieved.

It didn't take long at all for them to fall into an easy routine and rhythm with one another. They'd go shopping every Sunday for groceries or anything else extra they'd want for the week or just spur of the moment. Nearly every Tuesday night they went to a little ice cream shack called Emo's because if you bought two scoops you'd get the third one for free. Plus their hamburgers and nachos were the best either of them had ever had before. Paige had her training hours every Monday, Wednesday and Friday and had taken Emily with her more than a few times, introducing her to some of the girls that she would be swimming with at Stanford. Emily liked the girls, she liked the facility and she _loved_ watching Paige train. It was a sight she had missed more than she realized until she was able to see it again. Paige had improved since starting the extra camp, something Emily quickly noticed as she timed her from the stands at her girlfriend's request.

On days where Paige had to train and Emily couldn't join her she found herself wandering around the city by herself and she loved it. She loved the weather and the sounds from the ocean and the music that played on the boardwalks around them. She would walk and sit on the beach for hours at a time and just lose herself in the wind and sounds of the water. She never realized how much her love of the water actually was until she had stepped foot into the ocean. It was nothing like the pools at school. There was no limits or walls surrounding her. She could just swim and swim and swim forever. And she had. On one of her first weeks in her new home she had been unable to sleep and had gotten out of bed where Paige was dreaming soundly and had grabbed a bathing suit and walked out to the deserted water. She had been wanting to do it for days and days, especially after watching Paige in the pool for the first time in months, and she had finally had enough. She dove into the water for the first time in so many months that she had actually felt like crying when her head came up from the waves for the first time, as if she had been afraid she had completely forgotten how to swim entirely. When she had gone back to the apartment nearly an hour later, Paige was stunned to say the least when Emily had woken her up soaking wet from the ocean. The beach had easily been Emily's favorite spot to visit throughout her time there. She went nearly every day during the three months.

But nothing was better then the days and nights where they didn't go anywhere at all. The ones where they had just stayed in the apartment without even bothering to get dressed for the day. Completely locked away inside for twenty four hours or more at a time without a care in the world. They would eat take out all day, one of them managing to cook every once and while, and watch movies or just sit and talk. Sometimes they even played games with each other. Emily was the checkers champion between the two of them, but Paige had her beat when it came to war and other card games.

Other times they didn't do anything though, they just laid together in the quiet of the apartment and soaked in the silence they were given. Those days were Emily's favorites by far. When she got to learn something knew about Paige simply just by lying next to her. Like how if she touched the spot just below her right ribcage, _just so_ , Paige's whole body would tense up and her stomach would clench from the tickle. But it only worked on her right side, the left did nothing. She had made dozens of attempts to get the same reaction but nothing ever happened. Paige had managed to discover a tiny scar just beneath Emily's right ear, which had been explained as being from when Emily had run been rudely bumped into the edge of the kitchen countertop by her cousin when she was six. The barely half inch cut had bled for a long time and had been her first permanent scar.

Before either of them knew it August was coming to a close. Paige would be starting school in just two short weeks and Emily was due back in Rosewood in exactly one week. The thought alone had her insides twisting. The thought of leaving, the realization that in a matter of days she would be gone from this beach, from this place that she had fallen in love with so easily and called her home for months now, and the plain and simple devastation of being away from Paige was hitting Emily hard. And she hadn't even left yet. She still had time but it didn't matter because she knew that if she blinked too quickly it would all be over just like that.

She could actually hear her heart crying out in her chest at the idea of returning to her hometown. At the feeling of waking up in the morning without Paige next to her. Falling asleep each night without the sound of steady heart beneath her. She was even going to miss tripping over the one kitchen floor tile that had a small rift in it, which had caused both teens to stumble more times than they could count. Sometimes it was a handful of times in a day. All they did was laugh at this point when it happened because they repeatedly had not fixed the problem or remembered it was there.

Emily was going to miss California and everything about it. Plain and simple. It was hard for her fathom how this place that she had been in for such a short amount of time could feel more like home then the one she had lived in for all her life. But it was true. In her time away Emily missed her mother and she missed her friends of course, but never once did she find herself missing Rosewood as a whole. There was not one thing that was calling out for her to come back. She tried over and over again to think to something, anything at all that gave her a reason to go back.

So far she hadn't been able to come up with anything.

"I thought I'd find you here."

Emily's head snapped up and turned, her eyes landing on Paige when she did, smiling at the sight of her girlfriend still dressed in her pajama sweatpants and sweatshirt. Her hair was up in a messy bun with a few strands hanging in her face. Paige walked through the sand towards Emily and took a seat next to her with a small huff. She looked over at Emily, her eyes scanning her face for several moments as she crossed her arms over her raised knees.

"What are you doing out here?"

"Couldn't sleep." Emily responded with a short shrug as she scooted closer to Paige, leaning her head on her shoulder while wrapping both of her hands around Paige's left arm. Paige dropped a kiss onto Emily's forehead, her eyes closing at the aroma of Emily's wild berry scented shampoo filling her senses.

"You're warm." Emily mumbled into Paige's shoulders as she buried her face into the softness of her sweatshirt.

"Come here." Paige said as she lifted her arm up and above Emily's head, letting it fall over her shoulders, pulling her in close to her own body as she started running her hand over her arm in attempt to warm her up.

"We can go back inside, you know? Get back in bed where it's _really_ warm." Paige suggested with a smirk as she covered Emily's neck with several small, lingering kisses.

"Oh, I plan on it." Emily grinned widely at Paige as she settled against her side, instantly feeling much more comfortable than she had before.

"But I wanted to see the sun come up. It's so much better from right here."

Paige frowned for a moment, but didn't argue as she pressed one last kiss to Emily's cheek and turned her eyes towards the barely blue morning sky. Emily was right anyways, the sunrise was much better from the beach view then the patio view at the apartment.

The couple sat quietly together, their hands moving occasionally on the other, Emily running her hands up and along Paige's stomach, while Paige's fingers played with the ends of Emily's hair and down her back. Lifting her head from Paige's shoulder slowly, Emily took a moment to really look at Paige for the first time that morning. She was beautiful. Perfect, even in just her pajamas and slight bed head that only Emily could notice. When Paige finally turned at looked at her, probably feeling Emily's eyes staring at her, all Emily could do was smile. Paige returned the gesture, her eyes squinting slightly as she stared back at Emily.

"What?"

"You're beautiful, you know that?" Emily said somewhat bashfully, her head tilting off to the side as pulled her knees up to her chest.

Paige looked speechless for a moment, her smile growing as her head dipped slightly, her cheeks turning a slight shade of red as she blushed. Emily expected the response, her eyes shining as she watched Paige's head fall. She loved when Paige did that, knowing she had been able to catch the other girl off guard, which is exactly what she wanted.

"I don't know-"

"You are." Emily interrupted her, nodding her head as she smile spread across her lips more fully. "Completely and ridiculously beautiful."

Before Paige could protest any further, Emily closed the small distance between them, their lips meeting for a searing kiss that, this time, did take Paige's breath completely away. Their lips lingered together, meeting again and again softly as Emily wrapped her hands around the back of Paige's neck. Emily could feel Paige's fingers running along her spine, a tingle shooting through her body each time they did. Only when Emily's lungs started to burn did she break the kiss, her chest heaving slightly as she tried to catch her breath and she saw Paige trying to do the same, both of them smiling at one another with childish grins.

"I love you." Emily said as she finally regained control of her breathing and her heart rate slowed just barely.

"I love you, too."

Paige watched Emily as she dropped her eyes to the sand, seemingly focusing on her feet that were slowly running through the soft grains beneath them. Watching her girlfriend silently Paige could tell there was something there, something that Emily was thinking about deeply. Reaching her hand out to rest on Emily's thigh, Paige caught the brunette's attention, Emily's eyes immediately meeting with Paige's as she saw the concerned look on her face.

"What?" Emily asked, her voice laced with worry as she rested her hands over Paige's that was sitting on her thigh, her fingers gripping Emily's leg a little tighter for a moment.

"That's what I was going to say." Paige shot back

"I don't understand."

"You just had that look on your face." Paige explained, shrugging her shoulders as she went on. "The one that makes that little frowny dent show up on your forehead right here." Using her free hand, Paige pointed to the spot just above Emily's left eyebrow where a small indent could be seen.

Turning her eyes up to Paige's hand, Emily's frown only deepened as she reached her hand up to touch the spot Paige had been moments before, feeling the small dip in her skin for the first time.

"Oh." Was all Emily said as she looked back at Paige had a satisfied grin across her lips.

"Yeah, it's kind of a giveaway to when you got something going on in that head of yours." Paige admitted as a short laugh escaped her lips. "Or when you're just pissed off."

Emily couldn't help but laugh at that herself, never realizing before just how well Paige was able to read her.

"You okay?" Paige asked in more serious manner now. She watched Emily take a small breath, both of her hands leaving Paige's one as she slid them through her hair, her lips pursing together as she turned and looked back towards the swimmer.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Yeah, of course." Paige nodded, crossing her arms over her knees as she waited in for Emily to go on.

"What would you say if..." Pausing for a moment, Emily shifted her eyes out towards the water in front of them, the silence between them making it easy to hear the sounds of the waves once again, somehow causing a sense of calmness to come over her.

"If what, Em?" Paige prompted softly, not wanting to rush her but also wanting her to know that she was listening.

"...If I said that I was considering not going back." Emily finished after another moment's hesitation.

Waiting to hear Paige's response, Emily tentatively turned her eyes back to her girlfriend and saw, as expected, a surprised look etched onto her face.

"Uh, well I think first of all I would probably say ' _Huh'_?" Paige replied honestly, the response earning a small smile from Emily.

"You don't want to go back to Rosewood?"

It wasn't like it was all that surprising when she really thought about it, but the fact that Emily had yet to voice anything about such feelings until this very moment had Paige wondering where Emily's thoughts were coming from.

"No. No, I don't." Emily answered honestly, her eyes falling just slightly as a small rush of sadness washed over her. Actually admitting it out loud made it all so much more real and was having more of an effect on her than she had originally anticipated.

"How long have you been thinking about this?"

"Honestly? Since we pulled out of my parents driveway." Emily answered with a small laugh, but Paige could see the tears shining in her eyes.

"What's wrong? Why are you crying?" Paige reached her hand out, wiping the bottom of Emily's eyes as she looked on worriedly.

"I don't know." Emily shrugged with a smile. "It's just so weird to say that I don't want to go back. I mean I've known for so long that I didn't want to be there forever but I never thought I'd hate even the idea of going back for a little bit." Emily explained quickly, getting all of the thoughts out now while they were fresh in her mind.

"But I do. I really, _really_ hate just even thinking about going back there."

Paige wasn't sure what to say. She knew why Emily felt the way she did because she herself had a knot in her stomach anytime she thought about going back to Rosewood, even when Emily was there. It was a constant nervous and anxious feeling overwhelming her when she went back there. Even though 'A' was gone the memories were not and there would more than likely always be that cloud of doubt and uncertainty left in their hometown.

"I understand. You know I do, Em."

"But?" Emily questioned when she heard the hesitation in Paige's voice.

"I just don't want you to give up your life, Em. I mean, I get it. I know exactly why you feel the way you do about going back, but at the same time you do have your family and your friends there. You've got a life there still." Paige expressed carefully, not wanting to upset Emily but instead wanting her to know that there was still more to Rosewood than the bad memories, even if it was hard to see through them all. It was a big decision she was considering and Paige certainly didn't want her to make it on a whim.

"A is gone. There's nothing left to be scared of. You can move on and have the life you want you want there.

"So you think it's a bad idea for me to stay." Emily said with a clear sadness in her voice that made Paige's heart clench.

"No, I didn't say that." Paige argued, not wanting Emily to think she wasn't on her side because she was. "I'm all for you being here, you know that. Of course I want you here with me opposed to across the world, but I can't be that selfish because there's more to your life than me. You've got your family, your friends and your whole entire life in Rosewood still. I just don't want you to just give all that up without really thinking about it, Em."

Hearing Paige's explanation, Emily couldn't help but smile, knowing that Paige was only looking out for her and not just shutting her down. If the roles were reversed Emily knew she would more than likely be saying the same thing, wanting Paige to think everything through and not just jump the gun on a decision as important.

"You know for so long I kept telling myself that everything was going to be okay. That I just had to hang in there and get through it all and eventually, somehow we were going to win. We were going to beat 'A' and then we'd finally be done. I'd get to have a real life where I didn't feel scared or like I had to constantly be looking over my shoulder." Emily stared out at the ocean as she spoke, her hands held tightly together as she tried to keep her voice was shaking.

"But then-" Clearing her throat, Emily wiped the bottom of her eyes, sniffling as she swallowed down the lump in her throat. "Then we got arrested and every bit of hope that I had left just completely died. The second they put those handcuffs on me I just felt it. It was over and we were just never getting out of it no matter what. From there on it just got worse and worse every single day, even when I got back home. It didn't even matter because 'A' had taken all the hope I had left. Hope at ever feeling like I was really safe or that I really had a chance to have a real life was just gone."

Paige bit the inside of her cheek, nearly drawing blood as she listened carefully to Emily, wishing more than anything that she had been there during those times. That she could have been there to support Emily, but it had all happened so fast and by the time she had made it to Rosewood the girls had been taken by 'A'. Paige was left feeling utterly helpless. Knowing all the pain and fear that Emily had been forced to endure in the last several years was hard for Paige to handle. She wished she could have done more to help.

"At least I thought it was." Emily continued after a moment of silence. She turned her eyes from the water and looked at Paige, the smallest of smiles on her lips as the tears in her eyes threatened to spill. "But now I'm here."

"I'm here with you and all the sudden it's like...like somehow nothing bad has ever happened." Emily laughed, wiping her cheek when she felt a tear fall from her eyes. "For the first time in so long I can sleep through the night without waking up in a sweat or a panic and I can walk down the street by myself and not feel the need to look over my shoulder a hundred times down each block."

Keeping quiet, Paige watched as Emily started to talk with her hands, her eyes becoming more and more bright as she spoke.

"We actually have a life here, Paige. We have so much here that I really had lost all hope of ever being able to have. We have our own space, we've already made friends and a routine that feels so right." Emily said, trying to make her point clear to Paige as she went on and on with the thoughts that had been consuming her head for weeks now.

"I feel safe here with you." Emily's voice dropped to a whisper as she smiled again. "I feel like I'm just starting to find myself again and if I go back now it's all just going to go away. I just know it. Even though 'A' is gone and I know that, I also very much know that Rosewood is never going to feel safe again. It will never feel like home again even with my family and friends there. I'm never going to be able to forget or move past any of the things that happened there if I go back."

Nodding her head silently, Paige sighed under her breath as she reached over with her left hand and took hold of Emily's right one, giving it a gentle squeeze as a smile slowly started to spread across her lips.

"Well then I guess there's nothing more to say."

"Does that mean you want me to stay?" Emily asked somewhat nervously, her eyes hopeful as she looked at her girlfriend.

"You know I want you to stay. If that's what you want to do then I'm not going to say no. I want whatever is going to be good for you, and you know what that is more than I do. If being here is what you want completely then I'm with you."

Emily nodded her head slowly several times, her eyes staring down at their hands that were joined together.

"You don't mind me staying with you then? Or I could always get my own place, I guess."

"Hey, hey. What are you talking about? You're not impressed with the love shack all the sudden?"

Emily laughed, her head falling back as she did while Paige just looked on at her and smiled. "No, it's not that. I just didn't want to assume-."

"Always assume I want you in every possible way, no matter what." Paige interjected, smiling as she moved her body in closer to Emily's., stopping just inches away from her lips. "You can always assume that. I promise."

"Okay." Emily said, slightly breathless as she waited for Paige to move in that last little bit, her tongue swiping across her lips as she looked Paige in the eyes. Paige only made her wait a second longer, pushing their lips together swiftly and fully as she wrapped her free hand around Emily's back and pulled in body in close to her own.

"So what about your mom? And the girls?" Paige asked when they parted for air, keeping her hands on Emily as she played with the tips of her fingers.

"Well, the girls are all going to be going to school anyways. Hanna is going to be the only one even close to Rosewood and I can always go visit her or she could come here. As for Aria and Spencer, since they're both going to be in different states I guess we will talk on the phone or Skype or whatever like we have so far. There wasn't going to be a whole lot of seeing each other in person anyways."

"And your mom?" Paige asked hesitantly, knowing that Pam may not be so keen on Emily staying in California considering she wasn't quick to say yes about Emily going for the summer in the beginning, but then again she might not hate the idea either once Emily explained herself.

"She needs to get out of Rosewood too. Maybe now I can convince her to go to Texas and be with my dad, which I'm sure won't be very difficult. Honestly, I don't even think she's going to be surprised about me wanting to stay here."

"No?"

"I doubt it. I've told her how much I love it here. Even if she did say no it doesn't really matter. I'm eighteen so I don't have to go back even if she did want me to."

"But that's not how we want to do this." Paige gave Emily a pointed look, which caused Emily to smile and nod.

"No, it's not. But I don't think it will be an issue. I'm going to call her later and talk to her and I think she'll understand. I really do."

"Alright. I'm with you." Paige winked, pulling Emily's hand up to her lips before kissing her knuckles, her face twisting up suddenly as she remembered something.

"What about school? You got accepted to that school in the city." Paige questioned, hoping all her questions didn't make Emily feel like she didn't want her there, cause she did but she needed to know that Emily had thought of everything before fully deciding.

"Barely." Emily said as she tried and failed to hold back a laugh. "All the schools I got into were ones that I never even wanted to go to. I was trying to prove to myself that I could still get in even after everything that happened. "

Emily had known after her swimming injury happened the chances of her getting a full scholarship were very limited. Her grades were good but nothing to be bragged about. She wasn't in the slightest surprised when the school that had accepted her were less then glamorous or even worth looking at. She had only really considered going to one of them but now it didn't even seem worth hers or the schools time.

"I've actually been thinking that I might take a year off from school."

"Really?" Paige looked surprised, which didn't surprise Emily at all because she had never said anything about that either. If she completely honest, Emily knew exactly why Paige was being so hesitant because she had kept all of these feelings and thoughts inside the whole summer. So Paige was bound to question her sudden expressions.

"Yeah. I mean, it's not that I don't want to go school cause I do, but I just think maybe taking a year off wouldn't be so bad, especially since I just barely got through high school."

"That wasn't your fault, Em. You had a lot on your plate and without all of it you would have been perfectly fine. Every school would have been after you."

"I'm glad you think so." Emily smiled at Paige's supportive response, knowing that she really did mean it as well.

"But I don't know, I just I don't even know what I want to do yet really. I just, I have no idea but the funny thing is, I'm actually not even upset or worried that I don't. I'm okay with not knowing right now." Emily explained with a confidence and a smile that Paige hadn't seen for a long time.

"I think I just want to take this time to just be myself and figure it out as I go. I was thinking I'd get a job for now and then register at community college next fall."

"That's what you want to do?" Paige asked, still just wanting to be sure that there was no doubt in Emily's mind at all. She would hate so much for Emily to regret staying with her. All she wanted was for the other girl to be completely happy.

"Yeah, it's what I want." Emily said with all the assurance she could, wanting Paige to know that she was completely secure in her decision.

"I just want you to be sure, Em."

"I know you do, and I love you for that." Emily told her honestly, knowing that Paige was looking out for her best interest solely.

"But I am sure. I promise you that. I've been thinking about this for a while now and I am one hundred thousand percent sure this is what I want."

"That's pretty sure." Paige joked, winking at her girlfriend as she felt Emily's hand leave hers and instead move to rest on her thigh.

"Yeah, I am. I don't know what I want for the future or where I want to be in the next five or ten years, but I do know that right now this is what I want. To be here and be with you and just have the life that I've been hoping for so long to get the chance to really have. And I also know that wherever it is that I do end up in the years to come, I want you to be there with me." Emily expressed, feeling slightly nervous and exposed at the confession.

Emily watched Paige's eyes fall to the sand, the blush creeping back up onto her face as she smiled widely.

"I want that too, Em." Paige nodded rapidly, her smile taking over her face as she finally found the courage to look back into Emily's eyes. She could feel her heart ready to burst, all the information and things Emily had said to her this morning filling her completely.

Emily smiled, sliding her hand up Paige's chest before letting it rest on her shoulder as she pulled her in to a slow kiss. Their lips slid over one another's gently, both of their hearts beating rapidly in their chests as all of the words they had said that morning finally settled in their minds.

Emily wanted to stay with Paige. Paige wanted Emily to stay. They weren't going to have to say goodbye again. They were ready, so beyond ready to just have each other and start their life together for real. The summer had been the start, but was now just only the very early beginning of something so much bigger. There was so much more to be done, to be seen and time together now. Whatever came of it all, wherever it ended up didn't even matter. All that mattered was what was happening in that very moment, which was the two of them being together and knowing that they loved each other and wanted their futures to be together.

They had made it.

Emily broke the kiss with a small sigh, her forehead dropping against Paige's as she looked into her brown eyes, smiling when she saw the dazed glint shining in them.

"Take me home?" Emily asked as she rubbed her nose against Paige's, earning a chuckle from the other girl. Paige nodded her head silently, her lips brushing against Emily's cheek for a moment.

"You don't want to see the rest of the sunrise?" Paige questioned when she noticed the sky wasn't quite lit up just yet.

"I'll see it another day." Emily shrugged, smiling at Paige as she kissed her again and again.

"Besides I think I remember you mentioning something about an extra warm bed..."

"I did, didn't I?" Paige smiled against Emily's lips, not willing to part from them just yet as she kissed her fully once again.

"Lead the way." Emily urged, pulling back from Paige's lips playfully as she tried to keep their lips connected.

Getting up to her feet, Paige held her hands out for Emily, gripping her fingers in her own as she helped to pull her up to her feet. After getting her shoes on, Emily giggled as she felt Paige tug on her hips until their bodies were pressed together firmly.

"Your were right you know." Paige stated, licking her lips as she brushed her thumb across Emily's chin.

"Right about what?"

"Things working out, you know when nobody's looking."

Emily stared at Paige speechless for a moment. "I can't believe you remember that."

"I remember everything." Paige said with a slightly cocky grin. "I especially remember that outfit you were wearing."

"Oh, I bet you _do_." Emily snickered, pushing playfully at Paige's chest as the swimmer wrapped her arms tighter around her.

"Any chance you still have that?" Paige asked, her voice muffled as she pressed a series of kisses against Emily's neck.

"...Maybe." Emily shrugged, a cheeky grin on her lips as she slipped away from Paige's arms and started slowly taking a few steps away from her girlfriend.

"I guess you'll have to just see."

Without another word, Emily turned and started running down the beach, leaving Paige in the dust as she stood stunned.

"Oh, okay! It's like that, huh?" Paige called out, hearing Emily laughing at her as she started to run after her.

"You better catch up, McCullers!"

It didn't take Paige long to close the distance between the two of them, the swimmer silently thanking her father for making her do all that extra training which had improved her running speed as well. She had Emily wrapped up in her arms in no time, smiling as she heard Emily's laughter in her ear as she accepted defeat.

They walked hand in hand the few minute walk back to their apartment, using Emily's key to get in once they arrived. The rest of the day was spent inside, locked away in their apartment together. Whatever plans they had thought of making were completely forgotten as they lost themselves in one another, not that either of them were disappointed.

They had all the time in the world.


End file.
